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EXPERT WARNS OF HIKE IN PHONE BILLS WITH NEW iPHONE 5 AND 4G DATA SPEEDS

The release of the iPhone 5, which has faster Wi-Fi and 4G high speed capabilities, could hike the cost of mobile phone bills by hundreds of dollars say experts from comparison website MobilePhoneFinder.com.au. Five million of the latest Apple devices have been sold globally over the last week, and 80.6[1] of Australians plan to purchase an iPhone 5 in the near future.

Faster Wi-Fi and 4G speed appears to be the most compelling feature for consumers, with one in four Aussies choosing it as their favourite of the announced specs for the new phone. This enables users to download data at a much faster rate.

Todd Foot, Publisher of comparison website MobilePhoneFinder.com.au, who was also the first in the queue at the Apple store to purchase the new iPhone 5 last week says, “The new 4G could blow out people’s data allocation as part of their plan and there are hefty fees to pay for this. Major telcos excess charges are in the region of 25 cent per megabyte over the allowance. By downloading several emails with, for example, five megabyte attachments, consumers could end up with a bill nearly double their monthly fee.”

There are several networks offering 4G for the iPhone 5 including Optus and Telstra, as well as the resellers, who tend to offer the best value, such as Amaysim, TPG, Dodo and Virgin.

Mr. Foot has the following tips for consumers to avoid paying these charges:

  1. Use      Wi-Fi where possible
    Send      large attachments when you are in these hot spots.
  2. Setup      your data limits
    Providers      can send you notifications when you are reaching your data limit to      alert   you to this prior to going over it.
  3. Calculate      your data requirements
    Look      at what applications use data on your mobile and how much you download.      Then compare the plans on the market at MobilePhoneFinder.com.au to      find the best one to suit your requirements.
  4. Consider      a Sim Only deal
    If      you have bought your phone outright then consider opting for a sim only      provider to get a better deal. These are powered by Optus, which provides      4G services.

“The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman reported that last year there was a 26% increase in disputes about mobile internet charges. This will only grow as users can download more data, and faster with 4G. Consumers need to be savvy now to avoid paying extortionate data costs,” concludes Mr. Foot.

MobilePhoneFinder.com.au is a mobile phone and plan comparison service helping Australians save money by comparing phone costs and specs. Get a better understanding of the new iPhone 5 and other devices and plans at MobilePhoneFinder.com.au.

For more information on Mobile Phone Finder visit www.mobilephonefinder.com.au


[1] According to a survey of over 1,391 Australian consumers by MobilePhoneFinder.com.au, September 2012

 
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NEW F1 2012™ DEVELOPER DIARY REVEALS THE SEASON CHALLENGE AND CHAMPIONS MODE.

F1 2012’s new gameplay modes detailed in the final developer diary video, now playing at www.formula1-game.com  

SYDNEY 27th September – Codemasters® today released the final developer diary for F1 2012, the next game in the award-winning series, which is available now for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

The new developer diary gives details of two of the brand new modes within the game – Season Challenge and Champions Mode – as well as delving deeper into the five year Career and Multiplayer options. Gamers can view the new developer diary now at www.formula1-game.com.

Discussing Champions Mode, Stephen Hood, Creative Director for F1 2012 said “With six FIA FORMULA ONE DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONS on the grid this year we thought it would be interesting if we made a scenario-based mode about trying to beat each of the champions across increasingly difficult challenges.”

Season Challenge allows the player to experience a full FORMULA ONE™ career in the space of ten quick races. They start at a low ranking team, select a rival and, if that beat that rival on track, they will be offered their rival’s car for future races.

Speaking about Season Challenge, Hood added: “It is about trying to replicate that career experience you had over a number of years in our previous games into a condensed format.”

F1 2012 is set to deliver the most accessible and immersive FORMULA ONE game for fans of all abilities. Players will feel the unparalleled thrill of becoming a FORMULA ONE driver with a host of new features, wide-ranging technical and gameplay advancements and extensive competitive and co-operative multiplayer components. F1 2012 will feature all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, including the debut of the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX at Austin, Texas and the return of Germany’s famous Hockenheim circuit to the calendar.

F1 2012 is developed by Codemasters Birmingham for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and Windows PC and is available now. To get all the news straight from the studio, race over to www.facebook.com/formula1game or follow the team on twitter at www.twitter.com/formula1game.

 
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Talkin’ 2K: Dunk’d trailer now live!

This morning, I give you the latest trailer for NBA 2K13 – “Talkin’ 2K: Dunk’d” with the Lucas Brothers. Today, they are happily arguing that Blake Griffin is the sickest dunker of all time when an unexpected caller joins the debate. Who is this mysterious gentleman? Only one two ways to find out!

 
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New video games-specialist consultancy from the minds behind MANA BAR and INSERT COIN(S)

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – September 27, 2012 – With more than 25 years of combined games and entertainment industry experience, Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg (Mana Bar, PAX AUS) and Patrick ‘Patch’ Kolan (Insert Coin(s), IGN AU) have joined forces to launch PUG Consultancy.

PUG Consultancy is a games and entertainment-oriented creative and media company. It provides clients with connections, solutions and entertainment services to meet any scale and budget.

PUG offers a two-pronged approach: external client relations, and internal creative services and management. From social media strategy and implementation to event management and creative executions, PUG is the only service of this kind to cater specifically to the gaming market.

Says Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg, “I love this industry, everything about it, and after being involved in almost every sector and working with every type of gaming company, the idea of starting a business that offers specific solutions utilizing everything I’ve learnt is super exciting.”

“It’s an absolute thrill to be kickstarting something fresh for an industry we all know and love,” says Patrick ‘Patch’ Kolan. “The need for a company like this has been in the back of our minds for a while now and I believe there’s never been a better time than now to launch PUG. Come take our puppy for a walk!”

Rounding out the PUG team is Business Development Manager, Kurtis Wakefield, who brings invaluable expertise from previous experience in financial management and CEO roles.

Visit PugConsultancy.com for more information, or follow Facebook and Twitter.

 
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Former Red Hat Executive Scott Crenshaw Brings New Cloud And Virtualization Thought Leadership To Acronis

Crenshaw joins Acronis as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Chief Marketing Officer to strengthen leadership and focus on strategic enterprise initiatives 

Sydney, 27th September, 2012 – Acronis today announced the appointment of industry thought-leader Scott Crenshaw as senior vice president of strategy & chief marketing officer (CMO).  In this newly created role, Mr. Crenshaw will drive corporate strategy as Acronis accelerates expansion beyond  traditional backup and recovery solutions to address the new challenges created by the consumerization of IT. To unlock the promise of cloud and virtual infrastructure, enterprises need solutions for secure access, availability and protection. Mr. Crenshaw brings a depth of experience and market-understanding that will enable Acronis to deliver a new generation of solutions to customers worldwide.

“IT organizations are struggling to maintain control and relevance as end users introduce iPads®, cloud services and other new collaboration tools that demand access to the network,” commented Scott Crenshaw, senior vice president of strategy & CMO at Acronis. “When combined with the volume and velocity of data creation, this new BYOD user-led IT frontier presents unnecessary data access, availability and protection headaches. Ironically, technologies for cloud and virtualization, which were intended to simplify, have affected an IT management nightmare. Acronis is well positioned to build on its strong heritage and help organizations maximize the capability of the cloud and the virtual infrastructure.”

Mr. Crenshaw joins Acronis from Red Hat where he served as vice president and general manager of its cloud business unit, leading strategy and execution in the cloud computing and virtualization markets. Prior to starting Red Hat’s Cloud Business Unit, Mr. Crenshaw led Red Hat’s Enterprise Linux Business Unit for six years.   In these roles, Mr. Crenshaw successfully challenged large incumbent players, delivering greater choice, flexibility and interoperability to the industry, and helped to create the public and private clouds that much of the world relies on today. He was also a founder and President of the Open Virtualization Alliance.

“Scott has an invaluable combination of strong vision, leadership, product strategy and business development skill with an unsurpassed understanding of the cloud and virtualization market landscape,” said Alex Pinchev, president & CEO, Acronis. “His proven ability to deliver results in competitive markets makes Scott the perfect candidate to extend Acronis’ reach into the enterprise and leverage the technologies we’ve gained through our recent acquisition of GroupLogic. Acronis has a huge opportunity ahead and Scott will be instrumental in helping Acronis to reach its potential.”

Throughout his career, Mr. Crenshaw has held a number of executive positions at technology companies including chief executive officer at security technology company NTRU and vice president of product development at enterprise software vendor Datawatch. Mr. Crenshaw was a Sloan Fellow at the MIT Sloan School of Management; he received an MBA from MIT and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from North Carolina State University.

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New Mobile App Ignites Global Movement to Share Views on Family, Sleep, Trust, Sex and Luck

Global Project Shines Big Light on the Human Face of Big Data, Invites People All Over the Planet to Share, Connect and Engage for Seven Days

New York, NY – September 26, 2012 – Rick Smolan, co-creator of the groundbreaking “Day in the Life” series and other globally crowdsourced projects, today launched a free mobile app enabling people to share and compare their lives for seven days (September 26-October 2) using the sensors in their phones and by responding to thought-provoking questions with others around the globe about their dreams, interests and views on family, sleep, trust, sex and luck. The Android version is currently available and the iOS version will launch later this week.

The app represents the launch event of The Human Face of Big Data, a series of initiatives aimed at inspiring a global conversation about humanity’s new ability to collect, analyze, triangulate and visualize vast amounts of data in real time.

On October 2, Smolan and team are hosting a series of invitation-only media events in London, Singapore and New York, where leading Big Data experts will interpret and visualize seven days’ worth of information streaming in from participants using the mobile app all over the world. In addition, leading data entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators will share examples of their work in an interactive “Big Data Lab.” A live webcast will allow people around the world to watch the briefings as the day unfolds.

“Big Data is beginning to affect every aspect of our existence,” said Smolan. “Everyone carrying a smartphone has become a human sensor, and this new ability to sense and measure the world in real time is something our planet has never seen before. From curing diseases to conserving precious resources such as water and energy, Big Data may be the tool we need to address many of the most pressing issues of our time.”

Beginning today through October 2, The Human Face of Big Data mobile app invites people to share ideas and compare their responses with others around the world. People can map their daily path, share the objects and rituals that bring them luck, get a glimpse into the one special thing that others want to experience during their lifetime and discover hidden secrets about the world in which they live. The app is available in eight languages: English, Mandarin (simplified), Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Korean and Russian.

The Three Main Elements of The Human Face of Big Data App:

  • Passive data: Information that your phone gathers in the course of a      day. For instance, how far you travel and your average speed, or what time      of day you are most active.
  • Questions and real-time results: Topics include Me and      Myself; Family; Trust and Safety; Sleep and Dreams; and Sex and Dating.      People can see how their answers compare to others around the world and      sort answers by age, gender and general location.
  • Activities:Submit photos, map your daily travel and find your      “Data Doppelganger.” App activities include:
    • Lucky Me: Asks people to share       their “lucky rituals”—the things they do before a sports event, test,       company pitch or other important event to turn the odds in their favor.       They can then use filters to compare their own lucky rituals with others       around the world.
    • Map My World: Maps people’s daily       travel patterns, which can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, including       total distance, average speed and most active time of day.
    • Data Doppelganger: Gives people the       opportunity to find their Data Doppelganger—a combination of their own       face (if they choose to upload a photo) and that of the user who is their       closest data match. People will also be able to see the age, location,       gender, percentage of questions answered, passive data stats and       completed activities of themselves and their doppelganger.
    • Before I Die: In an activity based on       Candy Chang’s thought-provoking interactive project and upcoming book,       Before I Die, people of all ages are invited to share the one thing they       dream of doing during their lifetime. Participants will be able to       compare their own hopes and dreams to those of others around the world.

At the end of the project, the anonymized data will be available to researchers, data scientists and educators to study as a data snapshot of a week in the life of humanity in 2012.

The Human Face of Big Data project is editorially independent and is made possible through the support of EMC Corporation, which serves as the primary sponsor. Supporting sponsorship comes from Cisco, FedEx, VMware, Tableau and Originate.

About The Human Face of Big Data

The Human Face of Big Data, produced by Against All Odds Productions, is a globally crowdsourced media project focusing on humanity’s new ability to collect, analyze, triangulate and visualize vast amounts of data in real time. Against All Odds, described by Fortune magazine as “one of the 25 coolest companies in America,” specializes in the design and execution of large-scale global projects that combine compelling storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. The company’s projects have been featured on the covers of numerous magazines including Fortune, Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report.

Privacy and The Human Face of Big Data App

The Human Face of Big Data app was developed with user privacy in mind. The information gathered through the app will be used for noncommercial, educational purposes and is intended to provide a fun look at how each user’s answers compare with those of other users around the world. The data fall into two categories: (1) information voluntarily supplied by users, including photographs, and (2) information gathered automatically from users as they use the app. We do not ask for users’ names, email addresses or other contact information, and users will not need to create a username or password. We do ask for age and gender and ask users to confirm the city or town that their mobile device reports when they first use the app. We analyze the information users provide on age, gender and location, and the answers they provide to our questions, and compare it to the information provided by others to help users learn more about the views and aspirations of users of the app throughout the world. If they choose to do so, users can use the app without providing any personally identifying information; they can choose not to upload photographs and not to include personally identifying information in their activity responses. The full App Privacy Policy is available here.

To learn more, visit HumanFaceOfBigData.com, watch a short video about the project and follow the project on Twitter and Facebook.

 
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Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour – Extended Reveal Trailer (Official)

 
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Dishonored | The Tales from Dunwall ~ Episode 2: The Hand that Feeds

The Tales from Dunwall’, the three-part Dishonored  webisode series continues with the release of ‘The Hand the Feeds’. While the first episode reveals how Dunwall was revolutionized by a new energy source, this next chapter is a cautionary tale – one that illustrates the advantages, and the dangerous disadvantages, of accepting supernatural abilities from The Outsider.

Working with Bethesda and its marketing agency, Rokkan, Psyop created the online series to give gamers a first-hand glimpse into the shadowy whaling world of the game’s location, Dunwall, where plague is rampant and the city is in disarray and on the verge of dystopia.

Dishonored casts you as a supernatural assassin driven by revenge. Creatively eliminate your targets with the flexible combat system as you combine supernatural abilities with weapons and gadgets at your disposal. Dishonored will be available in Australia, New Zealand and Spain on October 11, 2012 and throughout Europe on October 12, 2012, and is slated for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.  

For more information on Dishonored visit: www.Dishonored.com.

 
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Nintendo Australia announce Wii U will be showcased at EB Games Expo 2012

27th September 2012 – Following the recently announced price and date information, Wii U™ will be playable to the public for the first time at EB Games Expo 2012, October 5th– 7th at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.

“We are incredibly excited to be able to showcase Nintendo’s innovative new Wii U game console to Australian consumers at this year’s EB Games Expo,” said Steve Wilson, Managing Director of EB Games Australia and New Zealand.  “EB Games Expo will be the first time gamers in Australia get to go hands on with Wii U.”

Nintendo Australia recently announced Wii U will launch across Australia and New Zealand on 30th November 2012 with the Wii U Basic Pack launching at the SRP AU $349.95,  featuring a Wii U console with 8GB internal storage and a Wii U GamePad, both in white. While the Wii U Premium Pack launches at the SRP AU $429.95 and contains a black Wii U console and Wii U GamePad, with 32GB of internal storage providing more space for downloadable digital content. The Premium Pack also contains a stand for the Wii U GamePad and console, a charging cradle for the Wii U GamePad, a sensor bar and the Nintendo Land software. Both packs also feature an HDMI cable and AC adapters for console and Wii U GamePad.

Wii U, is an HD console that offers more choice and variety of gameplay than ever before. With brand new gaming experiences enabled by the innovative Wii U GamePad controller, up to five players* can jump into the fun, with up to four people using Wii Remote controllers and one on the Wii U GamePad. The Wii U GamePad offers an integrated second screen and can also be used independently of the TV set with certain software.

Australian gamers will be able to play a variety of the titles available at launch, including Nintendo Land™, New Super Mario Bros.™ U and ZombiU™

For a full list of titles available to play during EB Games Expo, please see below:

New Super Mario Bros. U

Nintendo Land

SiNG Party

ZombiU™

RAYMAN® LEGENDS

Darksiders® II

Batman: Arkham City™ Armoured Edition

Assassin’s Creed® III

Scribblenauts™ Unlimited

Just Dance® 4

Game Party Champions

Sonic & All Star Racing Transformed

For further details:

Wii U website:   http://www.nintendo.com.au/wiiu/

Nintendo Australia YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/nintendoau

 

 
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FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 DLC SALE THIS WEEK ON XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE AND THE PLAYSTATION STORE

Development for the next instalment in the Lighting saga is well underway although head over to the Xbox Live Marketplace or PlayStation Store to catch the plethora of must-have download content available for FINAL FANTASY XIII-2. Now with a up to 50% off a wide selection of FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 download content there’s even more of a reason to join Lightning, Serah, Snow, and companions in the absorbing world of FINAL FANTASY XIII-2. This offer is valid for one week only from the 25th September on Xbox 360 and 26th September on PlayStation 3.

Whether it’s cross-gaming costumes like the N7 Armour from Mass Effect, arduous adversaries for the coliseum such as the terrible two Ultros & Typhon, or some story to soak your time into like Lightning’s Episode, there’s something for everyone. With so many choices we’ve put together our top recommendations that will feed your unyielding hunger for more!

Lightning: Requiem of the Goddess – Now only 200 MS Points (XBL) or AUD$2.95 / NZD$3.40 (PSN)

A must have for anyone looking to see more of Lightning’s story but can’t wait until next year. But be warned, this is for the dedicated fans amongst you who have completed the main story. Complete Lightning’s exciting story under certain conditions to unlock the fierce warrior cloaked in divine armour as a party member!

Snow: Perpetual Battlefield – Now only 160 MS Points (XBL)  or AUD$2.45 / NZD$2.90 (PSN)

Snow is back and ready to rumble. Win battles and get your hands on the crystal to unlock Snow as a party member!

Sazh: Heads or Tails? – Now only 200 MS Points (XBL) or AUD$2.95 / NZD$3.40 (PSN)

Unlock new casino content and a new episode featuring Sazh in Serendipity. Complete the episode to gain Sazh as a battle ally.